Game Notes: Florida State at Clemson

Edward Scott scored a season high 32 points and Chey
Christie added 16 to lead Clemson to a 73-64 win over Virginia on
Feb. 18, 2003. It was Clemson's first ACC road win of the year and
just the fourth time in the last 25 years that Clemson had defeated
the Cavaliers in Charlottesville. It gave Clemson a sweep on the
season series against Virginia, just the second Clemson sweep in the
last five years.

Scott scored his 32 points on 11-23 field goals, 3-6
three-point shots and 7-10 from the foul line. He also had a season
high eight rebounds and led the team in assists with four. It was
the second time this year that he had led Clemson in all three areas
in the same game.

Christie scored his 16 points on 7-14 shooting, and he also
had five rebounds and four steals in his 37 minutes. He had just one
turnover in that career high playing time. Fourteen of his 16 points
came in the first half.

Tomas Nagys led Clemson's bench scoring with 11 points and
four rebounds. All four of his rebounds were offensive and he did
not have a turnover in his 23 minutes of play. Shawan Robinson also
scored seven points off the bench, giving Clemson an 18-0 advantage
in bench scoring for the game.

Clemson won the rebound margin (44-42) and had 19 points off
turnovers to just eight for Virginia. Clemson committed just eight
turnovers in the game, tied for its low total on offensive all
season. Both teams failed to shoot 40 percent from the field, quite
a turnaround from the first meeting when both teams shot at least 55
percent from the field. Clemson held the Cavs to 34.4 percent
field goal shooting. Virginia's bench was 0-8 for the night.

Both teams came out with a high level of proficiency on
offense. Virginia took a 7-2 lead just two minutes into the game,
forcing Clemson Coach Larry Shyatt to take a timeout. The Tigers
then went on an 18-5 run to take a 20-12 lead at the 14:25 mark.
Edward Scott and Chey Christie combined for 18 of the first 20
Clemson points.

Virginia cut the margin back to two points at 22-20 before
Clemson went on a 9-0 run to take a 31-20 lead with 5:29 left.
The Tigers held a 41-32 lead at intermission. Virginia scored the
first five points of the second half to cut the margin to four and it
appeared the Cavaliers would continue their momentum. But, Chris
Hobbs scored to put Clemson back up by six at 43-37. It became a
defensive struggle for the next eight minutes. Clemson made just
four of its first 22 shots of the second half, yet held onto a
doubledigit lead. Clemson had its largest lead at 59-46 with 7:15
remaining on a jumper by Sharrod Ford.

Virginia cut the margin to four points twice inside the last
two minutes, but could not get any closer. After Virginia cut the
lead to 68-64 with 1:30 left, Clemson went on a 5-0 run to end the
game.

Scott Achieves Triple Leadership

Edward Scott led or tied for the Clemson team lead in
scoring, rebounding and assists in the win over Virginia on Feb. 18.
It marked the second time this year that Scott had led the Tigers in
all three areas in the same game, something we call a "Triple
Leadership."

It is another example of Scott's all-around abilities and his
contributions to the Clemson team this year. He also had a "Triple
Leadership" at NC State on Feb. 2. Scott is the first Clemson
player in history to have a "Triple Leadership" twice in the same
season. He also joins Terrell McIntyre and David Angel as the only
players in Clemson history to do it twice over a career. McIntyre did it twice in his career, once at NC State his senior year
and once as a junior in a home game against Maryland. McIntyre
nearly had a triple double in that Maryland game in December of
1997, scoring 21 points, dealing out nine assists and pulling down
nine rebounds. It is the closest a Clemson guard has ever come to
triple double.

Leading Clemson in all three areas in the same game is rare.
It has been done just 12 times since Clemson began keeping assists in
1968-69. It is interesting to note that the last four "Triple
Leaderships" have come on an opponent's home floor. Each of the
first eight happened in a game at Clemson.
Here is a list of Clemson players who have led Clemson in
scoring, rebounding and assists in the same game:

When Clemson defeated Virginia on Feb. 18 in Charlottesville,
it gave the Tigers a sweep of the regular season series with the
Cavaliers. This marked the first Clemson sweep of the Cavaliers
since the 1996-97 season, the year Clemson finished a program high
#8 in the final USA Today Coach's poll. The sweep of the Cavaliers
is the second for the Clemson program under Larry Shyatt. Clemson's
only other regular season sweep in the last five years was against
NC State in 1999-00.

The sweep of Virginia is the 47th in school history.
Clemson has swept Virginia more than any other school (12), with Wake
Forest ranking second with nine. Even though Clemson has never won
in Chapel Hill, the Tigers have swept North Carolina. That took
place in 1963-64 when the Tigers won at Clemson and in Charlotte at
the North-South Doubleheader.

The list below includes three sweeps of South Carolina, who dropped
out of the ACC starting with the 1972-73 season. Clemson has taken
two games from the Gamecocks five times in a year since they left the
ACC.
Clemson has just one more chance for a sweep this year. The Tigers
won the first meeting with Georgia Tech and will travel to Atlanta to
face the Yellow Jackets on March 8. The Clemson record for sweeps in
one year is five, set in 1986-87, a Clemson team that featured both
Horace Grant and Elden Campbell.

Clemson's win at Virginia was landmark in many ways. It was
just the fourth win for Clemson in the last 25 years in
Charlottesville. It could be a good omen for Larry Shyatt's club
as only special Clemson teams have won at Virginia over the last 25
years. The only other Clemson teams to win at University Hall during
this time period are teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The 1986-87 team was victorious 94-90 in overtime. That team
went on to win a school record 25 games. The 1989-90 team won in
Charlottesville 76-70. That team went on to a 10-4 league record and
won Clemson's only regular season ACC title in history. The 1996-97
Clemson team under Rick Barnes won in Charlottesville 62-52. That
Clemson team ended the season ranked #8 in the nation by USA Today,
Clemson's highest final ranking in any poll.

Tigers Stand 14-8 After 22 Games

Clemson started the season with a 9-0 record, its best start
since the 1995-96 team started 11-0. The Tigers are now 14-8 after
22 games. This is Clemson's best record 22 games into the season
since the 1996-97 season when Clemson was 18-4 after 22 games.
Clemson's best ever record after 22 games is 20-2, set by the 1986-87
team that ended the year 25-6.

This Clemson team is actually in better shape record wise
than the last Clemson team that went to the NCAA Tournament. The
Tigers were just 12-10 overall in 1997-98 after 22 games. But, that
Clemson team ended the season with six wins in its last nine games to
make the NCAA Tournament with an 18-13 overall record. That Clemson
team was 8-10 against ACC teams that year (including ACC Tournament
play).

Tigers Have Consecutive ACC Wins

Clemson has won consecutive ACC games for the first time
since last year. Clemson won its first two league games a year ago,
at Georgia Tech followed by a home win against Virginia. Clemson
has now defeated North Carolina at home and won on the road at
Virginia.

Clemson will be looking for a third straight ACC win when
Florida State comes to town on Saturday. Clemson has not won three
ACC games in a row in regular season play since the 1996-97 season
when Clemson won its first five league games. Clemson beat three
straight ACC teams in 1997-98, as Clemson won its last two regular
season games against NC State and Georgia Tech, then defeated Wake
Forest in the ACC Tournament.

Scott Has 78 Points Last Three Games

Clemson senior Edward Scott has scored 78 points over his
last three games. The native of Eastover, SC had 21 in a loss to
South Carolina on Feb. 12, then had 25 in a victory over North
Carolina on Feb. 15. He followed that up with 32 in a victory at
Virginia. He has raised his season average from 16.4 to 17.7 with
the recent flurry.

Scott's point total is the most over a three-game period
since Will Solomon had 81 over a three-game set against Wake Forest
(30), Georgia Tech (41) and Virginia (10) during the 2000-01 season.

During this three-game stretch, Scott has played all but one
minute, shot 25-55 from the field (.455), 9-15 on three-point shots
(.600) and 19-25 from the foul line (.760). He has 15 rebounds and
nine assists.

Scott Has been ACC's Ironman

Clemson guard Edward Scott is truly the ironman of the ACC.
So far this season he has played the complete game 10 times, more
than any other ACC player by far. In fact, all the other players in
the ACC combined have played the complete game just 12 times this
year. Scott has now played the complete game 17 times in his career.
That is quite a statement considering he missed six games his
freshman year due to various injuries.

Scott has now played 3741 minutes in his career, fifth on the
all-time Clemson list. The only players who have seen more action
are Terrell McIntyre, Grayson Marshall, Greg Buckner and Vincent
Hamilton. Scott is second in terms of minutes per game. His 35.3
minutes over his career are second only to Butch Zatezalo, who played
38.2 minutes per game between 1967-70.

The ACC standings are bunched for the first time in many
years. Clemson is right in the thick of it. A win over Florida
State and Clemson could move to as high as fifth in the league
standings with a 5-7 record. Right now there is just a six-game
difference in the loss column between first place Wake Forest and
last place Florida State.

The closest the league standings have been since the ACC went to a
nine-team format was in 1994 when there was just a seven game
difference between first and last. That year Clemson had a 6-10
regular season record, but still had to play in the 8 vs. 9 game.
In 1997-98 Florida State had a 6-10 league record and made the NCAA
Tournament.

The overall record for the fewest games between first and last in
the regular season ACC standings is six games. That happened three
times, 1977-78, 1978-79 and 1984-85. Each of the last five years
there has been at least a 10-game difference in the league victory
total between the first and last place team.

Nagys Leading Bench Scoring

Clemson's bench has outscored the opposition's bench 43-8
over the last two games. Clemson frontcourt player Tomas Nagys has
had a lot to do with that. The senior from Lithuania has scored in
double figures in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
He scored 15 in the win over North Carolina and 11 in the victory at
Virginia. He has accounted for 26 of Clemson's 43 bench points over
the last two games.

In the last two games, Nagys has made 6-10 field goals and
13-17 free throws. He has 10 rebounds, but nine of them are
offensive. He has just two turnovers in his 46 minutes of play over
the last two games. For the season, Nagys has made 62.8 percent of
his field goals and 77.3 percent of his free throws, best on the
Clemson team in both areas. He has 90 points in 210 minutes,
meaning he scores a point every 2.3 minutes. Only Edward Scott is
better at 2.17.

Clemson Defense Continues to Improve

Clemson continued its improvement in terms of defense in the
win over Virginia. Clemson held the Cavaliers to 34.4 percent field
goal shooting (21-61). That was the best field goal percentage
defense against Virginia all year. Indiana had held Virginia to
35.1 percent shooting in a game early in the year. Virginia entered
the game with the best field goal percentage in the ACC in league
games.

Over the last four games Clemson has held the opposition to
90-239 from the field, a .377 shooting mark. The streak started when
Clemson held Duke to .339 shooting in Cameron Indoor Stadium. That
was Duke's low field goal percentage shooting game in over three
year. The Tigers held North Carolina to exactly 40 percent in
Clemson's 80-77 victory a week ago.

Clemson vs. Florida State Series

*This is the 39th meeting between Clemson and Florida State
in men's basketball. The Seminoles hold a 22-16 lead. The two
teams have met three times a year each of the last two years.
Clemson won two of three meetings two years ago, but Florida State
came back to win two of three last year. The two teams met twice
within a three-game period a year ago when they played near the end
of the regular season, then in the ACC Tournament last year.

*Florida State won in Tallahassee earlier this year by a 60-59 score.
Anthony Richardson scored two free throws 0.4 seconds left to defeat
the Tigers. Clemson won the last meeting at Clemson, 87-78 behind a
36-point performance from Edward Scott.

*Seven of the last 10 meetings have been decided by five points or
less or in overtime.

*Clemson has a 3-12 all-time record in Tallahassee, including
2-10 in the Leon Country Civic Center. The wins came in 1961-62
(82-77), 1996-97 (76-70) and 1997-98 (78-49). Florida State has
beaten Clemson by six points or less seven of the last nine games at
the Leon County Coliseum. In fact, seven of the 10 Clemson losses in
Tallahassee have been by six points or less and Florida State's
largest margin of victory over Clemson in the Leon Country Civic
Center is 12 points, 102-90) in 1991-92, Clemson's first appearance
in the building.

* Larry Shyatt has lost five games by 19 points in Tallahassee in his
five trips to Tallahassee.

*Clemson's 78-45 win over Florida State at Littlejohn Coliseum in
1998-99 is the second largest margin of victory in Clemson history in
an ACC game.

*Over the last 17 meetings, Clemson has won eight times and
Florida State has won nine times. Florida State's average margin of
victory over that time is 4.7 points per game (42 points in nine
wins) and Clemson's is 16.8 points per game (134-point margin over
eight wins.). Florida State has eight wins over Clemson by seven
points or less during that time, and Clemson has just two wins by six
points or less during that time.

*Clemson and FSU first met in the 1952 Gator Bowl Tournament
in Jacksonville, FL. The Tigers won 62-56 and in fact won the first
three games of the series, one in Jacksonville, one in Charlotte and
one in Clemson.

*Since Florida State joined the ACC in 1991-92, the Seminoles
have won 18 of the 27 meetings. Clemson's top victory in that time
came in the 1993 ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Clemson defeated a
10th-ranked Florida State team, 87-75. That victory, led by Clemson
future NBA players Sharone Wright, Chris Whitney and Devin Gray,
broke a 27-game Clemson losing streak in the Tournament as a lower
seeded team. All three scored at least 20 points.

*Clemson is 2-2 against Florida State in the ACC Tournament,
including 1-2 under Larry Shyatt. Each of Clemson's two wins over
Florida State in the ACC Tournament came in seasons the Tigers lost
both regular season games to the Seminoles.

Kennedy and Maravich Coached at Midcourt

One of the more unique games of the series took place before
Florida State was in the ACC. On January 8, 1962, Clemson defeated
FSU 75-69. In that game, both coaches, Bud Kennedy of Florida State,
and Press Maravich of Clemson, sat side-by-side at mid-court while
the game was in progress.

Both coaches, who were good friends, had dinner together the
night before the game at Sports Information Director Bob Bradley's
home in Clemson and decided to watch the game together. During
timeouts they huddled with their team, then returned to their chairs
at mid-court. Clemson defeated a 15-8 Florida State team twice that
season.

First Meeting with Florida State

Florida State Downs Clemson 60-59

Anthony Richardson converted two free throws with 0.4 seconds
left to give Florida State a 60-59 victory over Clemson on Jan. 21.
It was a difficult loss for the Tigers who trailed for only 1:08 of
the 40 minutes.

Olu Babalola led the Tigers in scoring for the first time in
his career with 12 points, while Sharrod Ford and Shawan Robinson
added 11 apiece. It was a season high for Robinson, who had 4-5
shots from the field, including 3-4 three-pointers. Edward Scott had
nine points and six assists in playing all 40 minutes for the eighth
time this year.

Tim Pickett, who had made just 29 of his last 87 shots from
the field, made 7-11 in this game and scored a game high 21 points
for Florida State. Richardson, a high school teammate of Clemson's
Robinson, added 12 points. Trevor Harvey had 11 points in 24 minutes.

Clemson shot 46 percent from the field and won the
rebounding battle 30-29, but the Tigers made just 9-17 free throws,
including just 4-9 in the second half. The Tigers also had a season
high 19 turnovers. Florida State won the points in the paint battle,
28-22, the first time all year Clemson had been outscored in terms of
points in the paint.

The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie for the first seven
minutes of the game. Clemson then went on a 6-0 run to take a
16-10 lead on two free throws by Chris Hobbs. Robinson entered the
game with eight minutes left in the first half and made an immediate
impact. He scored 11 points in the next five minutes and almost
personally gave Clemson a 12-point lead at 35-23.

But, Florida State went on a 10-1 run the rest of the half
and cut Clemson's margin to 36-33 at intermission. Clemson shot
54.2 percent in the first half against a Florida State defense that
had allowed just 37.6 percent shooting heading into the game.

Florida State then scored four straight to open the second
half and took its first lead of the game at 37-36 with 18:55 left.
The two teams struggled on offense for much of the second half.
Clemson took a 44-39 lead with 14:29 left on a layup by Edward Scott.
But, Clemson did not score a field goal for the next five minutes.
The margin never got higher than four points for either team over the
last 14 minutes of the game.

The last 30 seconds of the game were frantic. With 15
seconds left Harvey hit a jumper to give the Seminoles a 58-57 lead.
Clemson then came back and scored on a jumper by Chris Hobbs with
seven seconds left. Florida State called timeout.

The Seminoles then in-bounded the ball. Todd Galloway missed
an off-balanced shot from the right side, but in the rebound action,
Sharrod Ford was called for a foul. After looking at the monitor,
the officials ruled the foul had taken place with 0.4 seconds left.
Richardson made the two free throws to take a 60-59 lead. Clemson's
long distance pass was intercepted and the game ended.

Last Year vs. Florida State at Littlejohn

Clemson 87, Florida State 78

Feb. 23, 2002 at Clemson

Edward Scott scored a career high 36 points, including 34
over the game's last 27 minutes, leading Clemson to an 87-78 win over
Florida State at Littlejohn Coliseum last year. Scott's point total
was the most by a Clemson guard since Feb. 14, 1970 when Butch
Zatezalo scored 43 against NC State in a game in Charlotte. Scott
also added eight rebounds and seven assists in the all-around
performance.

Five Tigers scored in double figures, including Scott's
performance. Chris Hobbs added 11 points, while Jamar McKnight, Ray
Henderson and Tony Stockman added 10 points apiece. Henderson had
his ninth double-double of the year as he also had 11 rebounds.
Delvon Arrington led Florida State with 20 points, seven assists and
seven steals. The opposing point guards were dominant throughout the
game.

Clemson shot 50 percent from the field for the game, while
the Seminoles made 43 percent. Clemson made 35 percent of his
three-point shots thanks in part to Scott's career best 5-6
performance.

Florida State had an 18-8 lead over the first eight minutes
of the game. It marked the third time in 2001-02 that Clemson
overcame a double digit deficit to gain victory. Florida State still
led 25-18 with 7:17 to go in the half. But, Clemson went on a 16-0
spurt to take a 34-25 advantage. Scott hit consecutive three-point
goals to get the streak off to a good start and had 10 points in the
16-0 run. Clemson led at intermission 41-30.

Clemson ran the margin to 19 points within the first five
minutes of the second half, forcing Florida State to play catch-up
the rest of the game. Arrington led a run that cut the margin to six
points late in the game, but Clemson made 9-11 free throws over the
last five minutes to gain the nine-point win.

Scott Has Played Well vs. Seminoles

Scott has played well against the Seminoles over his career,
but especially last year. The native of Eastover, SC had 68 points,
19 rebounds and 22 assists against the Seminoles last year in three
games. That computes of 22.6 points per game, 7.1 assists and 6.3
rebounds per game.

The totals include a 36-point outing in the Clemson win in
Clemson. That total was the 14th best single game in Clemson
history, the fifth best game by a Clemson guard. It was the most by
a Clemson guard since Butch Zatezalo had 43 against NC State in a
game played in Charlotte in St. Valentine's Day, 1970.

For his career, Scott has averaged 12.1 points a game against
the Seminoles. He has scored 109 points in nine games, all as a
starter. He has 43 assists against 28 turnovers and has pulled in 35
rebounds, a 3.9 average, solid for a point guard. He has also shot a
solid 13-33 from three-point range against Florida State, a .393
figure.